Frustrated Aussies forced to pay $100 a day while stranded in Bali

Frustrated Australians are being forced to pay hundreds of dollars as they battle to get home after a spate of flight cancellations.

Frustrated Australians are being charged hundreds of dollars for overstaying their visas in Bali as they battle flight cancellations and delays.

Australians have taken to social media to vent their anger at being forced to pay $100 a day to remain in Indonesia as they wait for their flights home.

One traveller noted they had been forced to pay $600 after they were unable to leave the idyllic island.

Travellers have been forced to pay hundreds of dollars after overstaying their visas due to flight cancellations. Picture: Getty

“I just spoke to an operator re my cancelled Bali to Darwin flight, I am re-booked for Tuesday which will incur a one day visa overstay fine,” one man from Darwin wrote in a Facebook group about Jetstar.

“The operator said they will not take responsibility for this fee.”

An Adelaide woman echoed his grievances after experiencing a similar struggle on her return home.

“Our 23.45 flight out of Denpasar was cancelled and our visas expired. Two days later we finally got a flight and paid $200 each to Immigration in a tiny office in Aust(ralian) cash,” she wrote.

“Jetstar will not help with 1 cent. We tried every possible angle to extend with no success anywhere.”

Adelaide woman Sarah-Jasmine Culley told The Advertiser she was lucky to get home this week but witnessed problems at the airport with some people delayed by a week.

“All Jetstar and Qantas gates were packed and with multiple gate changes and confusion,’’ she said.

“I was very lucky and managed to get home after a small delay in Bali.

“My family who were flying back to Melbourne were delayed by two days after two rescheduled flights and got home late last night.

“Jetstar have offered reimbursement for accommodation and flight vouchers but these are yet to be received.

“Looked like there were lots of delayed and cancelled flights when I was at the Bali airport on Saturday night.

“A few frustrated people (on my flight) I think that were happy to get home.

“There were a few people in the airport that had been delayed up to a week.”

A Jetstar spokesman said the relatively fewer distuptions to and from Adelaide were becuase it had fewer flights and passengers, compared to larger routes.

“It is not deliberate, it is the volume,’’ he said.

Former Adelaide woman Anna Genders, who owns and operates Saudara Villas and Cocoloco in Bali said flights to and from Adelaide were far less affected than other routes.

“I arrived (in Adelaide) with no dramas and I leave on Thursday and my flight seems to be still scheduled,’’ she said.

“Some of my villa guests have had re-route changes, and just arrived at a later time, or had flights pulled forward, but I haven’t come across anyone as yet with completely cancelled flights.

“I actually contacted Jetstar yesterday and said to them I was happy to give up my seat on Thursdays flight home as I was flexible and they said that it wasn’t necessary and there were plenty of seats.”

A Jetstar spokesman told NCA NewsWire that travellers impacted by cancellations “as a result of operational or engineering issues” were entitled to receive compensation for accommodation to $150 per room and meals up to $30 per person.

The spokesman also said customers were entitled to other “reasonable” expenses that would be considered on a case-by-case basis, which may include visa fees.

A South Australian woman noted the airline had not compensated her for the pricey visa fees incurred.

“We had absolutely no luck at all with Jetstar recouping $400 … not a penny,” she said in an online forum.

Jetstar has been scrambling to find alternative flights for travellers affected by cancellations. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

The added financial stress comes as Australians have been forced to wait days to fly home or pay thousands of dollars for new flights amid a raft of Jetstar flight cancellations.

Since the start of September, flights between Australia and Bali have been cancelled every day due to engineering issues and staff shortages.

Last week, thousands of Australians were stranded after a spate of flight cancellations by the aviation operator.

Jetstar said four Boeing 787 aircraft had to be taken out of circulation due to a range of issues.

“These aircraft have been impacted by issues including a lightning strike, a bird strike, damage from an item on the runway and delays sourcing a specific spare part from the US due to global supply chain challenges,” the spokesman said.

“We sincerely apologise once again for the disruptions caused to our customers’ travel plans.”

Jetstar said its team was working hard to return the planes to the sky as quickly as possible, but safety remained the company’s first priority.

“We still have three Boeing 787 aircraft requiring engineering work however, we expect two of these to be back flying this week,” the spokesman said.

“In the meantime, our new Airbus A321neo aircraft has been operating a number of return services between Australia and Denpasar to support our Boeing 787 operations.”

Hundreds of Australians have been stranded in Bali. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

The outrage about cancellations and additional fees incurred comes as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission revealed airline service standards plunged to a record low in July.

A report from the industry watchdog shows Jetstar cancelled 8.8 per cent of its flights in July, which was nearly 40 per cent higher than the average industry cancellation rate.

Less than half of Jetstar planes arrived on time in the same month, according to data from analytics firm OAG. The firm ranked Jetstar 120th out of 130 airlines around the world.